Trapped Within
by simba-rulz
Summary: Italy just wanted to visit a haunted house. He had no idea that it would end up as a battle for him and his friends' lives. Based on HetaOni and Aooni.
1. 一

**A/N:** My first fanfic in a while. I apologize for any errors. It's been so long since I've written anything.

This is based on HetaOni. For those who don't know, HetaOni is a Hetalia version of the horror RPG game, Aooni. While I do intend to stick rather close to the game, there will be some differences in my version. Of course, with an RPG, you don't really get a feeling for what the characters are feeling.

So, yeah. No comments of, "THIS IS LIKE HETAONI," please.

Ummm...enjoy?

_Axis Powers Hetalia is owned by Hidekaz Himaruya and Studio Deen. I own nothing._

_Aooni is owned by nonprops. I own nothing._

* * *

_"A deserted house on a mountain, about three hours on foot form the world summit place… No one knows how long it has been there nor who used to live in it. Rumors had it that it was haunted…"_

"Ve.~ It's really here!"

"I thought it was just a rumor… I never thought we would _actually_ find it."

"It has such a desolate feel. Not bad!"

"I don't think it's very interesting though…" Germany sighed. How had they ended up at this pathetic "haunted" house again? Glancing up at it, it looked like nothing but an ordinary western mansion with its bright red roof and tan stone walls. From the outside, he could see three floors all with several windows adorned with green shutters. Again, he wondered why they were here.

Oh, right. Italy had insisted on coming here after hearing America rave about the rumors of a haunted house. He'd somehow managed to ring him, Japan, and Prussia into coming with him.

Looking over at Japan, he saw the other man scrutinizing the house as well. He probably found it just as uninteresting as he did.

Japan turned to him, "Me neither. Can't we just go look at it from the outside and then leave?" The Asian man couldn't say he was afraid of ghosts (after all, he was usually the one America hugged to death while watching ghost shows, much to his discomfort), but he failed to see anything special about the house they were presently standing in front of.

"Awww! After all the trouble we had to find it? Come oooon! Let's just go in for a while, alright?" Italy whined. It had taken him quite a bit of persuasion to get the others to come with him (especially Japan, who had been completely disinterested from the start). He wasn't going to back down now! He simply pouted.

"F-Fine! We'll go!" Germany submitted. Why was he always incapable of saying no to Italy when he had that pathetic look on his face? "Just…let's not stay for long. I still never finished your training from earlier, Italy! No more skipping out!"

"Ve.~ Okay, okay, Germany." Italy smiled as he opened the door. "Let's go!"

Prussia internally snickered. He rather enjoyed watching Germany get pushed around by the pasta-loving red head.

As he walked into the house along with the others, he first noticed the long hallways and high ceilings. The floor, which was made of wood, stretched out into three directions from where they stood. A stair case stood not far from the door. All in all, it looked like a rather plane house. It wasn't what he'd been expecting from seeing the huge building outside.

"It's cleaner than I thought,." Italy said. It was true. He couldn't see a speck of dirt anywhere. That was odd for a house that was supposedly abandoned. Dust should have accumulated.

"Can we go now?" Germany asked. Although he put on a tough face, Prussia knew he was probably nervous. Germany was always a superstitious guy (1). He was sure that out of all of them, Germany probably wanted to be here the least.

Prussia couldn't resist getting in a tease. "What's the matter, West? You scaaared? Hmm?"

The blonde just frowned, "Are you-"

***CRAAAAAAAASH***

The four nations all jumped. What was that sound? Wasn't this house abandoned? It sounded like glass breaking…

Germany shivered but attempted not to show it. "Look, we should really be going now. You've seen all you want to see, right?"

"Oh, don't be silly!" Japan jested. "It's not like there are any _ghosts_ or anything. Where is your common sense, Germany-san?" While it was true that no one was supposed to be living in this house, it didn't necessarily mean that something breaking was the work of a ghost. It could have always been a minor earthquake that they didn't feel, right? He was accustomed to things just falling off his shelves at his own home and had come to the conclusion that they must have been from small tremors. Of course, England had tried to yell at him that one time about some girl speaking to him while he stayed at his house, but Japan had decided long ago that the British man was a little weird in the head. He lived alone.

"I will investigate the sound." Japan stated as he began walking down the hall to the right, the direction the sound came from. "I will be right back."

"Be careful, Japan!" Prussia called. Okay, despite how absolutely awesome he was, even he had to admit that the sound of something crashing in an abandoned house was a _little_ creepy. Just a _little_ though. Yeah.

"I will, Prussia-san. Everyone can just stay here. I won't be long." The Asian responded. As he began his walk down the hall, he noticed a wooden door, painted black, on his left. It contrasted against the pure white paint that covered the rest of the walls. Nothing out of the ordinary so far.

Continuing forward, he reached two double doors. As he turned the handle of the door on the right, he idly reached over to the katana on his hip. No telling what he would find. It was better to be safe than sorry.

Entering the room, it appeared to be some sort of parlor. On the right side of the room sat three couches in front of a TV. A large dining table was in the middle of the room. To the left, he saw the kitchen along with another black door. Just as with the rest of the house, the kitchen looked spotless. The counter was completely white without a splotch of dirt or grime. It appeared as though the stove hadn't been used in a long time, if ever. Everything was so spotless, it almost appeared as if it was brand new.

"Ah. There." He'd finally found the source of the sound. Lying right next to the kitchen counter was a broken plate. "This plate is broken... I have to be careful not to hurt myself."

Deciding to return to the others to tell them what he'd found, he retraced his steps back to the entrance. Upon walking down the hall and returning to the foyer, he was shocked to discover everyone gone.

"Did they leave after all…?" He sighed. "How…regrettable." He was just beginning to find this place interesting. Oh well…

Japan went to the front door and twisted the handle. Strange…it wouldn't open. It was if it was locked from the outside. Feeling rather nervous suddenly, he decided he'd better find the others. Surely they'd just went off to investigate…right?

"Which way to go first…" He spoke to himself. "I imagine I might as well start on the hall going north to begin with. I can take the hall going east later."

Going forward, he found himself at a corner where the hall took a left turn. On his right was yet another door. Trying to turn the handle, he found it was also locked.

"Strange…" Walking down the hall further, he found a Japanese-style room on the right side of the hall. Four paper doors opened up to the large room with a green floor. Inspecting the room, he still found no sign of the other nations.

"Well, then…I guess I'll try the other hall…" Returning to the foyer, he instead took the hall going east this time. Again, he encountered a door. "Locked…again." This was getting stranger. The hall again ended in a corner with his only way to turn being right, so he began his trek down the other hall. Japan would soon learn that locked doors was not the strangest thing he would encounter.

He padded down the hall, careful to not make a sound. Internally, he chuckled. He still remembered his days as a ninja, always slinking around without others knowing… His mental pat on the back soon ended however, as a gasp escaped his mouth from what he saw in front of him.

There, at the end of the hall, was…a creature? It was turned away from him, so all he could see was the sickly grey skin of its back. Not noticing him, despite his gasp, the creature entered a room at the end of the hall.

Japan let go of the breath he'd subconsciously been holding. "Wha…What was that thing? I must be imagining things. I'm just tired, that's all."

Disregarding the thing he'd just seen, he continued down the hall until he reached a door on the right. Twisting the handle, expecting to find yet another locked door, he was surprised when it opened.

"A bathroom?" The floor was yellow and he could see the sink and toilet, clean, just as the rest of the house. Finding nothing of interest, he returned to the hallway. Something drug him to the room at the end of the hall. He was curious…what exactly was in there? He was sure that thing he'd seen had been a figment of his imagination. He could reason several explanations he would be imagining it, with his age and fatigue topping the list.

He slowly reached out to touch the handle. Carefully and steadily, he began to turn it. Again, he kept his other hand close to his katana. With the last bit of hesitation gone, he slammed against the door to open it…

…and ended up knocking himself back onto the ground. "I-Itaaaaaaai." The once-ninja blushed at his failed entrance. Yeah, he probably should have checked to make sure it wasn't locked before slamming his body against the door. Thankfully, neither China nor Korea were there to laugh at his clumsiness. Maybe his spying...no, _sneaking_ skills were a bit rusty after all.

Quickly getting to his feet, he began to return to the foyer. The others probably went upstairs to look around. He'd try up there next. Before he knew it, he was again at the entrance.

Upon walking up the stairs, he yet again found himself in a place where there were three halls all heading in different directions. Taking the hall to his right, he approached a door on the left side of the hall. Upon trying the handle, he found it unlocked.

Stepping inside, he found a bedroom. He sighed. This place…was awfully boring. Well, he'd have to bare with it in order to find everyone else.

Leaving the room, he found the next room's door to be locked. What a surprise. He went to another room and the door was unlocked.

"Another bedroom." This room, however, did interest the Asian, for on the bed, he found a whip. The whip was awfully familiar. Where had he seen it before…

"Oh! This is Germany's whip." Picking the whip off of the bed, he inspected it. It was slightly worn (2). "…What is it doing in a place like this…?"

Inspecting the other three rooms on the floor, he found two were locked. There was nothing of interest in the unlocked room. It appeared to be some sort of living room.

Deciding to check out the first bedroom again, he returned. This time, he noticed something he hadn't seen before. On the left side of the room, there appeared to be some kind of door. Pushing it open slightly, he was surprised when a body came rolling out on top of his.

"Aaah!" Two yells resounded. Japan looked up to find Germany on top of him, a wild look in his eyes. He looked absolutely…terrified?

Terrified? Terrified and Germany didn't go together. As he got out from under Germany, he couldn't even find it in himself to be embarrassed at the breach in his personal space (at one time, he probably would have told the larger man to take responsibility…). That terrified look in Germany's eyes made Japan himself feel terrified.

"Ge-Germany-san!"

He didn't get a response. All the blonde man did was sit there trembling slightly. Japan couldn't recall a time he'd ever seen the European nation this shaken.

"Germany-san, where is everyone else?"

No response.

Japan sighed. "Germany-san, you look shaken." Remembering the kitchen he saw downstairs, he said, "I'll go get you something to drink, okay?"

Again, he didn't get a response. Leaving the room, Japan again found himself walking through the large house. All he could think of as he approached the kitchen was that look on Germany's face. What could have terrified Germany that much…?

Twisting the faucet in the kitchen, no water came out. "Hmm…it appears to be broken. I'll have to find water somewhere else…"

He'd try the bathroom next. It was the only other place he'd found that could have water. Luckily for him, the faucet worked. He was thankful. He was almost afraid he'd have to give Germany toilet water. Returning to the room, he found Germany to be in the same state he'd left him.

"Germany-san, I brought you some water. Drink it and try to calm down."

Germany took the drink and immediately began to gulp it down as if he hadn't had water in years. He cringed a little and said, "…Is this really water?"

"Judging by it's color…probably…?" That was the only response he could really give. He _hoped_ it was water. Then again, it wasn't filtered and unfiltered water tasted bad…

"I see." Germany responsed. He already looked much better. "Anyway, I'm sorry for falling apart like that. I feel much better now. Thank you."

"That's good. Do you know where the others are?"

Germany lowered his head and Japan noticed the sweat on the other man's face. "I'm…not sure, honestly. We all ran for our lives. Italy and Prussia…they both went in other directions, I think."

"Are you alright? You look awfully pale." Japan asked.

Germany nodded. "I will be. Just give me a moment…"

"I'll go look for the others. You rest." Japan said.

"Alright. Be careful."

Just as Japan was about to walk out the door, "Oh, wait, Japan! I forgot. I found this. It might be of some use to you," Germany exclaimed as he dropped a key in Japan's hands.

"Thank you, Germany-san."

Yet again, Japan was walking through the abandoned house. He was eager to find the others and find a way to get out of here. Trying the key in several doors of the first floor and having them all not work, he arrived in front of the final door on the floor, which was right next to the kitchen.

The key worked. "Ah! Finally!"

He crept into the room which appeared to be a library. The lights were dimmed, so he had to be careful not to trip. Walking around the shelves, he looked for anything suspicious. Nothing.

In the left corner of the room sat a table, however. He immediately noticed a bunch of clutter on top of it. Walking up to it, he found of all things…an onigiri? Picking the rice ball up, he decided to keep it with him. Who knew? Maybe it would come in handy.

As he turned the corner around the book cases to leave the room, he instantly knew something was wrong. Goosebumps formed on the Asian nation's skin as he turned to look behind him.

…No, no, no. He had been imagining that creature earlier. There was absolutely _no way_ that thing was standing behind him right now. Imagining things, imagining things. He was old. He was probably just delusional from being over two thousand years old. He closed his eyes, knowing the monster would be gone when he opened his eyes.

It wasn't. Rather, the creature, with its grey skin and large obsidian eyes, began to race towards him. Japan's breathing accelerated. Maybe it was because he'd spent too much time around Italy, but he did the first thing that came to mind.

He ran.

He got to the door, but it was locked. He fished in his pockets quickly, hoping and praying it was somewhere in there. It wasn't. "…I…I must have dropped the key."

Swiftly turning around, he found the monster right on him. The dim light of the room shined off of it's eyes. He could see his own fearful reflection in it's eyes.

"_No…" _ He thought to himself. _"I am a Japanese man. I am not going to go down without a fight. I'm not going to just stand here trembling."_

The monster lunged at him, but Japan used his smaller size to his advantage. Jumping to the side, he swiftly unsheathed his katana and slid it across the creature's side.

It made some sort of grumble of pain, but swung it's large arm to the side in an attempt to hit the nation. Japan again took advantage of the size difference, this time jumping up on the creatures arm and using it as a ladder in which to attach an ofuda scroll (3) to it's head.

This time, it let out a screech of pain as the holy scroll went to work on it. It thrashed, sending Japan crashing into the wall. It stung, but he knew he couldn't waste any time. Jumping back to his feet, he again slashed it with his katana, leaving a large gash across it's stomach.

"Uaaaaaaagh!" It growled as it retreated slightly, clutching it's stomach in pain.

"_Now's my chance!"_ Japan thought as he quickly raced all across the library looking for the key. _"Where is it, where is it, where is it? I don't have time!"_

It was true. As he was racing around the room, the monster was recuperating. It again stood on it's feet and began walking around the dark room looking for the nation. The Asian man held in a sigh of relief when he found the key behind one of the book cases. He slowly crept on the back side of the book case and peaked around to see where the monster was.

"_Good…it's still on the other side of the library."_

He quietly raced to the door, careful not to make any sounds to alert the creature of his whereabouts. Unlocking the door, he ran outside before quietly closing it and locking it again.

He walked further down the wall before finally resting against a wall. Sliding down the wall, he sat on the ground with his knees held to his chest.

"_What…What was that? It seemed like something straight out of a horror game…"_

He didn't know how right he was.

* * *

(1) Germany let an octopus figure out the World Cup. Yeah. Sums it all up.

(2) Looks like Germany and Italy had some fun on that bed while Japan was looking around the house. :'D

(3) "Ofuda (御札) is a gofu (護符) or a talisman issued by Shinto shrine. It may also be called shinpu (神符). It is made by inscribing the name of a kami, the name of Shinto shrine, or a representative of kami on a strip of paper, wood, cloth, or metal." - Wikipedia

**A/N: **Sorry if Germany seems OOC. It's necessary to the story. Don't worry, he gets better.

Thank you for reading!


	2. 二

**A/N: **Thank you to everyone who read the first chapter of Trapped Within! I would especially like to thank the reviewers, **The Singing Maiden**, **IReadFanficsOnly**, and **Min Kagamine**. I appreciate your feedback. Thanks also go out to everyone who added this to their story alert or favorites list. :'D It makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

That being said, enjoy this chapter of Trapped Within!

* * *

For nearly thirty minutes, Japan had sat here with his ear against the door to the library, listening for any signs of the monster he'd just encountered. It was peculiar. He didn't hear any sound of it, but he hadn't seen it leave.

In his hands, he held the onigiri he'd found on the table earlier. Having grown up in China's house, Japan had come to know quite a bit about identifying things with medicinal properties. The onigiri he was currently grasping smelled as if it contained some sort of natural remedy, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Placing the onigiri in a small pack he'd found while searching the house, Japan returned to listening in the room. Still nothing. A little peak wouldn't hurt, would it?

Unlocking the door, he cautiously poked his head in. There was no sign of the monster so far. Being a bit bolder, the Asian nation walked into the room, this time being sure to keep the key close to him at all times.

Walking around the library, he still found no sign of the creature. Actually, now that he thought about it, it seemed like the lights were no longer as dim as they'd been when he was in here previously.

Something shiny caught his eye on the table in the corner of the room. Nearing it, he saw that it was a key. A key to what…? Picking it up, he brought it to his face to get a closer look. It was golden in color with a little scribble on the top… He could see the romaji "I" and "V" together. IV? What did that mean…?

Oh! Looking at the key he'd used to open the library, he saw that on the top of it, there was also a scribble. It was a lone "I." Of course…they were roman numerals! If the roman numeral for the number one was on the key he'd used to open this room, perhaps the numbers were meant to match keys to floors. If that was the case, the key he'd just found on the table must belong to one of the doors on the fourth floor. He decided to keep the key, putting it in another pocket of the pack he'd found. (1)

Still neither hearing nor seeing the monster anywhere, Japan looked at the bookshelves. He sighed. "If only I wasn't in such a hurry… I would really enjoy reading these books. There are so many." He idly wondered if there were any manga or doujinshi in the shelves.

"…Well, just one wouldn't hurt, would it?"

Opening the first book available, he leafed through it, seeing that it seemed to be outlining certain techniques and attacks. Interesting. One specific technique caught his attention due to the fact that it looked to have originated from his country.

"Dissmisal?" He lightly chuckled at the description of the attack. "I don't want to see your face." Ha!

Looking through the instructions on how to perform it, all it entailed was a few Shinto chants. Easy enough. It looked like it could be useful. Although he made a mental note of all the steps of the technique, he decided to carefully rip the page from the book and also place it in is pack to be safe. If he ever saw that creature again, he would test out its effectiveness.

"Well, it seems as though I've spent enough time in here. I need to go find Italy and Prussia…"

As he left the room, he decided he'd check out the third floor next. Arriving at the top of the stairs on the second floor, he briskly turned the corner to meet the next staircase.

Upon reaching the third floor, he noticed three rooms as well as another staircase that lead up to the fourth floor, which he assumed to be an attic. The doors were all locked, just as he expected.

"I hope they aren't hiding in any of the rooms with locked doors…" Japan mused. "It wouldn't surprise me. It would be logical that if they were running from that monster, they'd hide in a room and lock the door. I imagine the last place I can check is the fourth floor. I do have a key for a room up there…"

There were two rooms on the fourth floor. He imagined he'd try the eastern door first. Approaching it, he found it to also be locked. Reaching in his pack and retrieving the key, he was pleased when it slid into the keyhole with ease.

"It seems I was correct that the markings were roman numerals for the floors."

The room was rather Spartan. Despite its large size, the only pieces of furniture were two cabinets, a chair, a desk, and a chest of drawers. He ran a finger over the oak desk. Lifting it to his face, he found that it was, yet again, completely clean. _Not even a molecule of dust…_

He jumped when he heard a squeak resound across the room. Grasping his katana, he asked, "Who's there?" His only answer was another squeak, which he was able to pinpoint as coming from behind one of the cabinets.

Slowly approaching it, he carefully moved the cabinet slightly to the side. He was rewarded with another squeak.

"...A mochi?"

Indeed, he had found the source of the squeaking. There hidden behind the cabinet was a small white mochi, it's blue eyes shining up at him. He could see that it was stuck in a break in the wall.

"Are you stuck?" He asked. His answer was a curt nod from the little creature. With it looking at him, it's eyes watering and looking so pathetic, Japan couldn't help feeling sorry for it.

"Let me see if I can help you." Grasping the mochi by it's sides, he attempted to pull it out of the break in the wall it was caught in. It was really stuck in a tight spot. He grunted from his efforts before letting go and letting out a sigh.

"I'm sorry. I can't get you out." He apologized. "Germany-san may be able to get you out though. I wonder if he'd come here for that?"

Remembering the terrified look on Germany's face and how he seemed to not want to leave the room he'd quarantined himself in… "Then again, maybe _I_ will have to drag _him_ out. Anyway, I'll ask him."

Returning to the second floor, he hoped that Germany had shaken off his terror from earlier. Seeing Germany like that still gave Japan the creeps. Germany was always very good at concealing any fear he felt.

After entering the bedroom, he made his way to the back corner where the door resided that Germany had toppled out from earlier. Too his surprise, he found the door to be made out of iron.

"_What? I'm almost positive this door wasn't iron earlier…"_ He thought as he knocked. "Germany-san, do you have a minute?"

Instead of opening the door, Germany answered him from behind it. "Is that you, Japan? What's the matter?" He spoke quietly, as if afraid that talking much above a whisper would alert the creature of their whereabouts.

"You see, there's a mysterious mochi stuck in the wall in a room on the fourth floor." The Asian answered. " I feel sorry for it, so I was wondering if you could get it out…"

A pause. "…I see. Okay. I'll go and get it out." Another pause. "…I do have a favor to ask of you though, Japan."

Japan nodded, but then remembered the other nation couldn't see him. "Ah, sure, if it's something I can do."

"When I was running from that thing, I dropped my whip." Germany answered. "I think we should have some sort of weapon in case that…._thing_ shows up again. If it's not too much trouble, could you please go look for it?"

"What a coincidence!" Japan grabbed the whip from his pack. "Actually, I found your whip a while ago!"

"Really?"

"Here, I'll give it back to you."

The door opened, but only enough for Germany to stick his hand out. Japan blinked. He was incredibly confused by Germany's behavior. This didn't seem very much like him.

Passing the whip to the other nation, Japan said, "It was lying on the bed next to the door."

Germany's hand receded out of sight behind the door after he received the whip. "Oh, I see. Uhhh…thanks."

"It was not a problem. I only found it by chance, after all." Reaching for the door to open it, Japan called, "Now, let's go to the fourth floor-"

"Oh! Japan! I'm sorry, but…"

"Yes, what is it?"

"Ah…I'm sorry, but…actually, I'm hungry. Don't you have anything to eat?"

"To eat…" He remembered the onigiri he'd found earlier, but decided against telling Germany about it. With It's medicinal properties, the onigiri was better off saved in case of an emergency. "I'm sorry, but I didn't bring any food with me. I don't have anything that could be used as an ingredient either…"

"I see. If it's not too much trouble, could you please go look for something to eat?"

Japan sweat dropped. Of course Germany would suddenly have to need food when they were in the middle of a haunted mansion with a monster running loose. Perfect timing, honestly. "Germany-san, how could I _possibly_ find food in this place?"

"I have no strength right now." Germany answered. He _really_ needed food and besides that, he needed to distract Japan from him for a little while. "Anything is fine; just find me something, okay?"

Japan just stared at the door. Was Germany really serious? After a few seconds paused, he figured he'd gotten his answer. "….Alright. I'll look around. I need to find Italy anyhow."

"Thank you, Japan."

The European nation went quiet for a few seconds. Believing the conversation was over, Japan turned to leave.

As he was about to walk away, Germany again called to him. "By the way, did you find my brother?"

Japan's expression dimmed. He'd been through so many rooms in this place and yet he hadn't even seen a _sign_ of Italy or Prussia. "No…but he should be fine. Somehow…"

"Sorry for all the trouble." The door again opened slightly and Germany's hand popped out, this time holding a can. "Oh, and take this with you."

Grabbing the can from Germany, Japan immediately noticed the label on it. He really wasn't sure how this would benefit him any… "A beer, Germany-san?"

"Hn. How do you think I've healed myself in the past?" Germany snorted.

The Asian nation sweat dropped. "…You've healed yourself by drinking beer? Germany-san, you know, there are healthier ways to-"

"Just take it, oaky?"

"…Okay, okay." Japan still didn't understand how a beer would help him… "Thank you very much, Germany-san. I'll be going now."

Right as he neared the door, he suddenly heard banging coming from the room Germany was in. _"What exactly is he doing in there…?"_

Deciding he had more pressing matters at hand than what Germany was doing alone in that room, Japan left. Going down to the first floor, he still found most of the doors to be locked. Entering the bathroom, he noticed something he had previously missed before. The toilet looked odd.

"…_There is a coin slot on top of it...? Wait, there's also a screen…?"_

Going up to the toilet, he confirmed what he saw from a distance. There was, in fact, a screen with a coin slot right next to it on top of the toilet. Touching the screen, it immediately sprung to life, displaying several items that he could apparently buy.

"_まったく。。。__I've officially seen everything." (2)_

He was amazed to find that the screen displayed the selections in his own language. The main items he could buy were onigiri and beer. The machine was able to convert any currency into it's "heta." According to it, he was currently carrying sixty "heta" with him. An onigiri was thirty heta and the beer was thirty-five heta.

He sighed. Beer. What was with all of the beer? He pressed the arrow next to "onigiri." Selecting two, he went ahead and put his money in the toilet. He was _really _looking forward to seeing how the toilet producded the rice balls.

His eyes widened when two onigiri suddenly just _appeared_ on top of the screen. The screen offered him an, "ありがとうございます！" It then shut itself off. (3)

"_Weird."_ He thought as he stood there blinking. This day just kept getting stranger and stranger. He was far too old for this.

Placing the onigiri in his pack, he left the bathroom. Again, he found himself drawn to that room at the end of the hall, the same room he'd seen the creature go in earlier. Somehow, he found himself standing at it, his hand on the handle.

He pushed the door open. Unlocked! As it shut behind him, he was encased in darkness. Where was the light switch…? Feeling around the wall, he finally found it. Flipping it, light illuminated the room.

"Aaah, there. Now I can…see..."

He could see alright, for directly in front of his face was the huge body of the monster. It's large head tilted to the side as it inspected him. It was the first time Japan truly got a good look at it. The first time he encountered it, it had it's back had been to him. The second time, the room was so dim, all he could really make out was it's silhouette and it's large eyes.

The monster was truly something to be feared. Towering far above the short Asian, it stood on two muscular grey legs. It had a large belly. Two long arms ended in sharp, dangerous looking black claws. The creature's neck seemed to stretch to what would surely be an uncomfortable length. On top of it's impossibly long neck sat it's huge head. A small, sharp nose was accompanied by two large, completely pitch black eyes. It's mouth was forming a scowl.

"….." Japan grabbed his katana and stepped back, wanting to put as much room between him and the creature as possible. There was no doubt in his mind that this would be a fight.

He was correct. Less than a second later, the _thing_ lunged at him. Quickly reciting the incantation he'd learned earlier, he declared, "DISSMISAL!"

The monster recoiled as red blades suddenly seemed to shoot down from the air, leaving a scorching mark across it's front. It let out a roar of what seemed to be anger.

Japan didn't have long to observe as suddenly long whips of electricity left the monster and coiled around him. He screamed as he felt every fiber of his being get shocked.

"Aaaagh!" Even as the electricity receded, the Asian still felt pain with every movement. That creature…what _was_ it? Somehow, it vaguely reminded Japan of something.

Bearing through the pain, he pushed himself to his feet. The monster seemed to be a bit winded from his attack on him. Good. That left an opening that Japan couldn't afford not to take.

The sound of steel running across it's sheath was all the warning the creature had before Japan's katana imbedded itself in it's stomach. It hardly had time to screech before Japan whipped the sword out, making sure to lightly pull up as he brought his weapon out. Drawing it upwards would deal more damage, especially internally, than a simple stab wound.

"…_But where is the blood? A stab wound like that…that thing should be bleeding all over this place!"_

There was no blood. Instead, all Japan could see that was escaping the wound was some sort of grey dirt or rock. The dirt continued to spill out of wound, covering the floor completely.

"…_Is it finished?"_ Japan wondered.

He soon got his answer as sparks of more electricity crawled out from the monster, rebounded off of the walls, and shocked him yet again. It definitely wasn't as strong as it had been the first time, but it still was enough to bring Japan to his knees yet again.

"…J_ust…keep moving. Ignore the pain."_

Removing an ofuda from his pocket, he raced over to the monster and slammed it on to it's body. It let out a high pitched squeal as it expelled even more electricity from itself. Although the Asian nation managed to miss most of it, a few tendrils hit him head on.

Finding himself slammed across the room on his back, he tried to sit up. His vision was getting blurry. He had to do something quickly. He refused to be defeated. He _would not_ be defeated.

Reaching into his uniform for another ofuda, his hand bumped against something round. Pulling it out, he found it to be the onigiri he'd pocketed when he was in the library; the onigiri that reminded him of the smells of China's natural remedies when he was growing up. _Medicine…_

Quickly eating it, he was amazed when he suddenly felt quite a bit of his strength return.

"_This onigiri…it healed me that quickly?"_ Japan blinked. He couldn't stop the grin that covered his face nor the next thought that came into his mind, _"It…it's just like the senzu beans from Dragonball!"_

"..._No, no."_ Japan shook his head, blushing. _"Now is not the time to think about anime."_

In an instant, the monster was swinging at him again, it's claws sharp and intimidating, heading straight towards Japan's head. Ducking, he slammed his katana through the creature. The momentum of the monster's body rushing towards him made it all the easier for Japan to push the sword all the way through, with the other side poking out of the _thing's_ grey skin of it's back.

Japan readied himself to withdraw his sword when the creature slammed into him, knocking him into the room's dresser. Sitting up, he cursed. That thing now had his sword, but then again, it wasn't exactly in the best position to fight him with his katana currently skewering it.

"_One last attack… I may be reaching my limit, but so is it. This should do it."_

He recited the incantation he'd learned in the book again, focusing everything into the words. "**DISSMISAL!**"

Again, the red blades came crushing down on the creature, slashing it's face and neck. By now, practically the whole floor was covered in the dirt it leaked.

The Asian gasped when he noticed that the creature was suddenly transparent. He could see the door on the other side of the room through the monster. He didn't have long to ponder it before the monster slapped the light switch off.

"_Is it going to kill me in the dark?"_

The next five seconds seemed to draw on for eternity as Japan sat there, an ofuda in his hand, waiting for the creature to make it's move. He nearly jumped out of his skin when the light suddenly came on_._ What he saw confused him.

The creature was gone and the room looked absolutely _untouched._ None of the dirt that had covered the floor a few seconds ago was there. The only evidence of the encounter was Japan's lone katana lying where he'd last seen the monster. Crawling over to it, he examined it and found that it was completely stainless, just as it had been when he entered the house. It was as if he'd never even fought with it.

"…_What….is going on…?"_

_

* * *

_

(1) The scenes with Japan inspecting the onigiri and the keys were not in the RPG. Because this is a fanfiction, explanations have to be brought up about _how_ the rice balls just magically heal people and _how_ Japan just knew the key was to the fourth floor. In the game, of course, it's just all, "Obtained key to the fourth floor."

(2) _まったく – _I'd probably translate it as something along the lines of, "…_Seriously?"_

(3) ありがとうございます – Thank you.

I try not to put too much Japanese into my stories, but with Japan, I sometimes find it fitting. Also, I mean, come on, a toilet that sells beer and onigiri. Who _wouldn't_ lapse into their native language?

**A/N: **Thank you for reading the second chapter. I hope that it was up to everyone's expectations. If you haven't watched the HetaOni RPG, the first few parts of it are rather Japan-centric. Don't worry, everyone else gets their parts later.

If you have the time, I love receiving feedback. Thank you!


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